The Scythe and the Sword

Huddled on the floor, Matthew took a glimpse at the giant screen plastered directly above him. It displayed the view of a security camera located in the bay, and in that moment, something instantly caught his eye; three vans leaving the bay through the exit he'd just opened earlier.

"Huh?..." It was unusual to him. "Why would anyone be leaving at a time like this? Reed's currently wrecking the Garden…"

Known to Matthew as a reporter of A.X.A., if vehicles ever left the facility it was for the purpose of scouting or retrieving subject candidates. Whenever an excursion as such would occur, an Overseer plus a team of Angels would be sent; usually in a maximum of two vans.

"Why are there three going out?" More importantly to which Matthew thought; "Why would any of the Overseers be leaving to scout right now? There's an emergency happening right here!" Close by, the sounds of bones cracking and flesh gushing could be heard as Reed continued to wipe out wave after wave of Angels. Luckily to Matthew, he was face-flat against the floor, blending in with the dusted rubble and bloodied bodies. He was also positioned behind a control panel through which were no gaps or openings. If Matthew ever desired a glimpse at the massacre behind him, he'd have to peak around the corner.

Fear and irritation struck at Matthew's mind with impatience, as he'd been hoping to see any Overseer show up to the Garden to put an end to the madness. But it was just Angels and Seraphim. A constant flow of units continued to flood through the narrow doorways of the Garden, all after one head; Reed Regardius. But instead, their own heads were taken, as the wrathful subject mercilessly ravaged any incoming Angel that stood in his path.

"I just want to be saved…" Matthew whimpered. He continued to watch the security camera footage, once again observing the unusual sight of a convoy of three vans leaving the facility through the exit he enabled. "Why're you going out now? Overseer Chamuel? Jophiel? Ariel? Someone save me…"

But then it struck him.

"Those Overseers aren't irresponsible… they wouldn't leave so abruptly, and especially at a crucial time such as this… Where are they? That can't be them…"

Curiosity got the best of him, so Matthew faintly raised his body, enough to get his hands onto the control panel. There, he began pressing and cycling through more visible options of security footage. The one he was currently on solely displayed the bay's exit. Switching to the next, was the view of a broader spectrum to the bay. Like a small pixel seen on the screen, Matthew detected an unusual trace of red. He switched to the next camera, displaying a view closer to the origin of the red speckles.

There he saw the limp bodies of both Jophiel and Ariel under a pool of blood.

"—!" Matthew gasped. He covered his mouth quickly, shocked at the sight.

"J-Jophiel? And Ariel too!?" A gut wrenching feeling swelled in his stomach. It was one of worry and anxiety. "Who could've done this… Reed?" Matthew instantly denied the option. "It couldn't be… Reed's been here in the Garden the whole time, and he was only just resurrected!"

Matthew began cycling through options in his mind. What's and why's and how's filled to its brim. Out of curiosity, he switched the camera footage's channel to that of the hallways, and switching to the containment hall's perspective—

"You've got to be kidding me…"

—Every containment room's door was wide open, revealing an absolutely deserted area.

"Don't tell me… those were the subjects?" He recalled the footage he'd just seen recently; of three vans leaving the bay. The thought alarmed him, and he couldn't help but accept that it was most probably the reality of the situation.

Although remembering he'd wished for their freedom just moments ago, he realized he didn't know any of the other six subjects to any extent. He'd only been studying Reed Regardius, and so the other six were of unknown capabilities and unknown personalities to him. His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the sound of an Angel's arm being torn off.

"RAAAAAAAGHH!!!" Reed yelled in the distance. Its brutal echo striking absolute fear into Matthew. "If the rest of those subjects are just like him… then this is really bad…"

Matthew understood that the world and its society above could very well be in danger at the threats that lurked beneath the surface, thereby defining their reason to remain beneath the surface. But now that six individuals with uncompromised capabilities were beginning to resurface, there was a definite chance of immediate danger to those unknowing.

"I need to do something… I need to warn the public…" Matthew's instinct kicked in; "They need to know the TRUTH."

Remaining prone, Matthew crawled to a nearby control panel further from the gory ruckus, and closer to the Garden's entrance through which Angels continued to enter. Raising himself onto this new panel, he logged into his own personal account to access terminal permissions. Then, he began typing out a new document.

"I need to make make myself sound like the Cardinal Nexus as much as possible, so that everyone can believe it…"

Matthew began typing out an irregularity-like broadcasted message through a breach in the Cardinal Nexus' announcement system. He hoped to be able to alert the citizens of each district acting as the Cardinal Nexus.

He began writing:

{ Attention citizens of all districts. Six unspecified individuals have just recently escaped an underground experimentation facility from an organization known as Archangel Experimentation Association (A.X.A.). The association is comprised of a large following of highly intelligent scientists who strive towards imposing a newly world order through an established hierarchy of power. To push forth this goal, the association has performed other-worldly experiments on human subjects to induce supernatural capabilities, of which are also unknown. The whereabouts of where the threat is based is unknown, as the convicts are on the run. The Cardinal Nexus has concurred this to be a Level 1 Threat: Emergency. Citizens of all ages must take as many safety precautions necessary in order to avoid contact with these individuals—

Matthew thought about what he'd write next; he realized there wasn't nearly enough information provided;

—Further information will be provided concerning these individuals as authorities continue to investigate. Remain alert. }

And he clicked enter, successfully uploading the announcement onto the Cardinal Nexus' main channel. "That should be shown on the billboards across each district tomorrow morning… Good."

Suddenly, a large bang resonated. Panicked at the unexpected noise, Matthew instantly dropped back down to the ground, covering his head as he did so.

Peaking carefully around the corner from where he hid, was the sight and sounds of bodies dropping. Looking up, Matthew noticed a rainfall of Angels that landed in Reed's direction.

The waves of Angels had stopped.

"What happened?" Matthew looked towards the bang sound's origin. There, standing at the entrance to the Garden, was a large figure who pressed past the remaining Angels that filled the doorways.

"MOVE!" He yelled. And upon doing so, he thrusted his chest forwards, initiating an explosive blast that blew the Angels up into the air. The remaining units of hindrance landed heavily among the floor, cracking their limbs in a deadly manner.

"Useless…"

The large male stepped forward, standing amazingly tall. His body was noticeably bulky and engraved to the skin with rugged white armor; a visibly strengthened and amplified version of the general armor suits that Angels wore.

He looked directly at Reed, who stood hundreds of meters away drenched in Angel blood.

"So this' the kid I've been losing all my units to?" He glared at the piles of bodies that surrounded them. "Pathetic," he spat on one under his foot.

Behind him, a dark figure emerged from the shadows stepping forth into the light.

"Yes, sir, that's Reed Regardius." It was Overseer Azrael, the Angel of Death.

Across the two individuals, Reed stood shocked for a moment, engaging contact with the killer of his past life. But to push out any fear that would inhibit his strength, he laughed. "Your units weren't enough, so you had to come fetch me yourself?"

The larger man glared at him, "Don't talk to me like you know me."

"Oh but I do," Reed chuckled. "You must be… Overseer Michael, no?"

"Hmph." The man crossed his arms. "Irritating. This is the boy you've chosen Raphael?"

There was an awkward silence.

Nearby, Matthew continued to lay face-flat. His heart beat against the cold floor as warm blood pumped past his ventricles, inducing a shallow breath and cold sweat within.

"Azrael and… Michael are here?" There was a slight feeling of relief. But at the same time, there was an odd sense of unsettlement. He wondered why; "Those two can finally put an end to Reed's rampage, which means I can finally get out of here… So why do I feel so anxious!?"

He looked at the familiar corpse nearby; it was that of Overseer Raphael's. The sight invoked guilt, and a recent memory involving a special weapon; the DZ3E. Suddenly Reed spoke up, in response to Overseer Michael.

"Raphael's dead." He grinned proudly. "That son of a bitch's finally dead, and guess what?" He presented his open bloody hands; "I killed him myself."

Michael's initial reaction was shocking, but it was quickly washed over. "Is that your attempted method of provoking me?"

"If the truth provokes you, then sure," Reed replied.

"Truth or not, you gain no advantage over me. Nonetheless us," Michael brought forth Azrael. "Kill him with no mercy. Just like five months ago."

Azrael nodded.

"Not like Raphael's here to tell us otherwise anyways." Michael's eyes darted around. "It's partially his fault that my Angel Unit numbers have significantly declined in this past year alone, about nearly 1500 units wiped just like that, by this fucking kid... He has no right to be enraged over taking the life of his one subject… Right Azrael?"

"Yes sir."

"Then go kill him, quickly and efficiently."

Azrael instantly took off, bolting straight towards Reed.

"Now then," Michael stepped back. "Where are you, Raphael?"